奇幻與科幻作品中的故事世界：《魔法世界》與《刺客教條》的跨媒體世界建構

Abstract

本研究旨在探討跨媒體與媒體內容創作之間的關聯性。近年來，將一部作品以跨媒體製作的策略發展已成為流行文化中的常態，且此現象對於奇幻與科幻類型的作品來說尤為顯著。為了探究這一現象的成因，我回顧了過去三十年媒體科技的急遽進步以了解目前媒體環境的形成，並透過多部經典作品探索奇幻與科幻類型作品中所具有的共同特性。在眾多跨媒體實踐中，由亨利·詹金斯提出的跨媒體敘事強調以多個媒體平台講述不同的故事以擴張故事世界使一部作品達到傑森·米特爾所說的可傳播性和可鑽研性。這意味著一部作品可以通過不同的媒體平台觸及更多的消費者，同時也能利用各媒體平台獨有的優勢來使故事世界更顯豐富。在這兩個概念的詮釋之下可以得知，以跨媒體敘事為首的諸多跨媒體實踐不僅僅是一部作品用以行銷的商業策略，同時也是反應在敘事與故事世界的呈現方面的創意展現。本論文以奇幻與科幻類型的兩部跨媒體作品《魔法世界》和《刺客信條》為案例，以馬克·沃爾夫提出的世界構建理論分析這兩部作品的故事世界以及它們分別採用的跨媒體發展策略以了解跨媒體與內容創作如何互相配合以達到互補的效果，從而提升消費者的體驗。This study aims to investigate two examples of how the correlation between transmediality and media content creation is established. In recent years, turning an IP (intellectual property) into a transmedia franchise has become a common development strategy in popular culture, especially in the fantasy and science fiction genres. To explore the causes of this phenomenon, I review the rapid advancement of media technology in the last three decades to learn about the formation of the current media environment and explore the shared features of fantasy and science fiction. Among the various transmedia practices, transmedia storytelling proposed by Henry Jenkins stands out for its unique approach to expanding story worlds by telling diverse stories across multiple media platforms. This practice allows media content to achieve what Jason Mittell calls “spreadability” and “drillability.” Spreadability refers to the ability of an IP to reach more consumers through different media platforms, while drillability means using each medium’s unique strengths to enrich the story world. This shows that transmedia development, especially transmedia storytelling, is not only for marketing or business strategies but also for creative expression. Using two transmedia franchises in fantasy and science fiction genres, Wizarding World and Assassin’s Creed, as case studies, I first analyze the design of story worlds with the world-building theory proposed by Mark J. P. Wolf, then explore their approach to transmedia development to see how transmediality and content creation work together to achieve complementary effects that enhance consumers’ immersion.